How many miles should I expect out of this truck? I have 70,000 miles with just regular maintenance, including ball joints and brakes,but how many miles should I expect that it will be good and sellable?
Why do you worry about it being sellable? If it is sellable, it is good enough for you, so you keep it!
Ford’s F-150 is one of the best trucks on the road; even the Ranger has racked up 400,000 miles with some owners. If you take care of it as well as you say, you should expect at least 300,000 miles!
My sister is an accountant, and believe me she has cruched the numbers. It is always cheaper to basically run the vehicle until:
- It becomes unsafe, and can’t really be made safe
- It will no longer pass emission tests without some great expense
- The body is gone so far as to be unrepairable
- You can no longer get parts for it
- Nobody knows how tho fix it anymore.
Items (4) and (5) should not be an issue. A friend of mine has a 1989 Ford F-150 Heavy Half to tow his 5th wheel. He’s done some body work but the truck is still going strong.
I predict that you may finally get rid of it when gas goes to $5/gallon in about 6 years or so. But he truck will still be OK.
Hope that helps you decide.
I think those early sixties F-150s are classics and you should keep it forever, as an example to others.
This is a 2002, off road with leather…and has been doing fine. I’ve already put a few dings, and scratches in it, so it is broken in just right, and I’ll put in a new battery tomorrow, just to be sure. But think I can keep it going well.
Pickup trucks are usually never taken out of service unless they get crunched, bad. Keep it looking good and you won’t want to get rid of it. I know there are those that are rusting in the yard but some ofthose have over 300,000 miles on them or the people just don’t know that they can get money for them.
FYI: I had to get rid of my “smog-exempt” '74 F250, because putting gas it in was more than the monthly payment on my '04 Ranger.
The best bet is to start putting money into a special savings account and in 10-20 years when it is no longer serviceable and you have it towed to the junk yard, you will have enough to buy a new one. That is a young truck.
Anytime before that if you feel you WANT not NEED a new vehicle, go ahead and buy one, but remember it is going to cost you more.I’ve been putting my truck payment in a savings account for almost two years. There is a point though when the amount that I am saving is not matching the amount of depreciation of the truck, but in the end I think that I’ll be better off saving until I can buy something with cash, and the value of the truck.
“There is a point though when the amount that I am saving is not matching the amount of depreciation of the truck”
Keep this in mind -
That statement above is only going to be true when the truck is new. New vehicles (regardless of brand) depreciate more quickly than old ones. Domestics, in particular, tend to have very nonlinear depreciation curves. But the LONGER you own it, the more it flattens out. Then that savings is far outpacing depreciation. Using depreciation on a new vehicle to justify buying another new vehicle is a futile (and expensive) effort.
Take my 1997 Taurus, for example. Those things are notorious for nonlinear depreciation curves. I bought it with cash, but had I financed it, it would have cost $410.12 per month (48 months). Instead, I put $300 per month away to save for a new car. At a measley 4% interest on that savings, here’s how things stacked up (depreciation based off kbb private party values and initial purchase price:
Year / net savings / net depreciation
Year 0: $0 / $0
Year 1: $3666 / $6718
Year 2: $7478 / $8570
Year 3: $11442 / $10192
Year 4: $15566 / $11437
Year 5: $19854 / $12414
Year 6: $24313 / $13446
Year 7: $28951 / $14383
Year 8: $33775 / $14933
Year 9: $38792 / $15317
Year 10: $44009 / $15562
Year 11: $49435 / $15670
As you can see, I paid FAR more in depreciation in year 1 than I saved. But by Year 3, I had more in savings than I had paid in depreciation. Now 11 years later, I earn enough in simple interest off those savings to fund a large part of replacing that car off of interest alone. In fact, I could replace it with a brand new Fusion, pay about $10000 in cash out of that savings, finance the other $6000, and the monthly interest on the remaining savings would be enough to pay the car loan… Or I could pay 100% in cash and then just focus on saving for the next car.
On the other hand, I think I’ll keep what I have… It runs great, it is only racking up just over $100 in depreciation per year (it is basically fully depreciated now - it only gets worth less if it stops running), and that savings account just keeps growing…
Trucks/SUVs usually hold their value better than cars, even the abundant F150. If the OP is worrying about price when he goes to sell it, the only way one is gonna be a good deal is if one finds a 50s Ford truck and fix it up.